I am an 87 year old gay retired Pennsylvania Dutch farmer/artist recently moved to South Florida from the Pine Needle Retirement Home in Lancaster Pennsylvania. I write about Art, my art, art criticism, art theory, LGBT issues, ageism, philosophy, and politics.

December 11, 2005

Bicentennial Man: The Motion Picture

Bicentennial Foil Man

Last night I watched Bicentennial Man two times. Of course it is about prejudice, but when Andrew the robot stood before the "World Congress" and asked for the right to be HUMAN, I knew the movie was about me, and my people, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered. You see, we live in a United States politically dominated by evangelical Christians, and a possible 28th Amendment to the constitution would limit marriage to heterosexuals, thus creating a separate class of citizen by law. In fact, it was only fourteen months ago, just before the last presidential election that I listened in amazement as the President of the United States said he was in favor of such an amendment.

Last night I realized that Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people are the robots/androids of this society! We are expected to participate in the military as secret sexual beings. We are expected to use our extremely motivated and creative lives to support and build the nation, even as that nation fights to limit our freedom. In most states we are not allowed to adopt children (our own, or those that heterosexuals discard), nor are we allowed to marry our mates, pass on our estates to our partners and children, nor sit by our God given loved one, to hold his/her hand as she/he dies in a hospital, and I do believe that a life-long mate, whether heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered is a gift from God.

I found myself in tears often while I watched Bicentennial Man, because Last night I realized that the Republican oil based oligarchy has the desire to create a country in which women, and LGBT peoples are second class citizens who are not quite human. We are entitled only to do the work necessary to keep the United States afloat while the heterosexual male citizenry squanders the greatness developed by our forefathers and foremothers during the past three centuries.

Last night this particular bicentenial man woke from his dream of “liberty for all” to face the nightmare reality of the twenty-first century, and the possibility of my own disenfranchisement.

Psychiatrist Appointment

I had my evaluation this past Friday, late in the morning. I drove myself to Harrisburg after the roads had been cleared of the six inch snowfall that fell during the early morning hours. I probably owe the psychiatrist several hundred dollars because I spent an hour and one half being grilled until smoke was coming out of my ears. If the stakes weren’t so high, it might have been fun. As it was, I have been making conjecture concerning the (not so well hidden) agenda behind each question. For instance, the first was…

“Who is the president of the United States?”

And my answer, “George W. Bush, damn it!”

About an hour into the evaluation the psychiatrist gave me a series of 5 numbers, and asked me to repeat them. Then, he said…

I just barely managed, “3 – 4- 1 –4 – 2.” I’ve been wondering ever since if I’ve suffered some chronic brain damage, and I’ve been practicing. I made a bunch of 3 x 5 cards with series of 5 numbers on them, and I grab one or more at odd times of the day and test myself. I figure I can train new pathways around the damage.

My family physician will receive the results of the evaluation within ten days. After I have my appointment with him, I will be free to head for Florida, I hope. Keep your fingers crossed, dear journal. Yes, well you don’t have fingers. So, they’re imaginary fingers. There is so much imagination in my life that a bit more won’t hurt.

Friends Service Committee and Habitat for Humanity

*

I’m still plugging American Friends Service Committee for relief along the Gulf Coast. Long term help is necessary to return the poor to their parishes along the Gulf Coast, and repair the damage done to those neighborhoods that gave New Orleans it’s cuisine and culture. Soon, the Red Cross and other emergency organizations will move on to new crises. The Friends are much more likely to do good things for the unfortunate people of the region than anyone I can think of. They do not discriminate, and they will not proselytize while helping those who wish to reestablish themselves. Also, think about donating money and/or your own time and skills to Habitat for humanity. That organization will be called on to help the poor rebuild their homes, I’m sure.

*AFSC Logo, American Friends Service Committee home Page, http://www.afsc.org/, site licensed under a creative commons license. viewed Wed., November 30, 2005.

Please E-mail me at

ZacSfuts@Comcast.net

with comments.

(Note the new address. I am no longer at AOL.)

. Note that I have removed "Comments," as unscrupulous persons were using that part of the “blog” to advertise their products and services. If you have legitimate comments, I hope you will communicate these directly to me.

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About Me

I am an 87 year old gay X-Amish artist recently moved to South Florida from the Pine Needle Retirement Home in Lancaster, PA. In my journal I detail my daily existence here, in South Florida. I write about Art, my art, art criticism, art theory, LGBT issues, ageism, philosophy, and politics. I also channel Stephen Gulliver a 28 year old gay man from an alternate reality in which a neo-conservative government threatens the lives of lesbian and gay people.